


inflammation

by willowcabins



Series: purim gifts ficlets [1]
Category: Jessica Jones (TV)
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, F/F, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Mentions of past abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 12:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6195211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowcabins/pseuds/willowcabins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jess doesn't need Trish to save her, but sometimes she does anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	inflammation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seekingferret](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekingferret/gifts).



Trish gets a text in the morning that's full of typos. She riddles through the lines over her morning coffee until she realises that this is an anecdote about how Jess watched a cat being run over on the streets of New York. The anecdote dissolves though, becoming just a string of expletives, and then it stops. Trish looks at the text, and then glances at her watch. She got up early to go to her yoga class this morning, but it looks like she can't go. She slips her phone into her hoodie pocket as she turns on her heel and changes back into street clothes.

She appears at Jess's apartment with two coffee's and some scones she picked up at that charming, ultra hipster cafe that Jess claims to hate but visits all the time. The man working behind the counter hits on Trish, but she has no patience for it as she checks and rechecks her phone. She snaps a disingenuous 'thank you' as she grabs her drinks, though she immediately feels bad about it as she leaves. She pushes the guilt aside. Today, she doesn't have brainspace for this.

She walks into Jess's apartment quietly, her boots barely making a sound against the floor. There is a dead cat on the desk. It has very clearly been run over. Trish looks away in horror, and suddenly her fear spikes. There is a large lump on the bed; Jess has pulled a bright red polyster blanket over herself completely. Her douvet is on the floor, and she's sleeping on the bare mattress, the bed is unmade and disheveled. The apartment has deteriorated since Trish was last here; there is a layer of dust on everything and the room smells of sick. Trish bits her lip and picks her way through the mess carefully. she carefully perches on Jess's bed and rubs her leg slowly.

"Hey Jess," she murmurs, ever so quietly, because she doesn't want to disturb her. There is the quietest moan from under the blanket, and it pierces Trish's heart with pure relief. She didn't realise how scared she was that something terrible had happened to Jess until now. Trish waits patiently, carefully rubbing Jess's leg, while Jess slowly pulls herself out of her cocoon. Her eyes are still closed but she starts groping around her.

"What do you need?" Trish says quickly. "Water?"

"Yes," Jess whispers. Trish picks up the water bottle from the floor and passes it to Jess. Jess' hand spasms and she drops it on the bed. Trish quickly grabs it, and carefully holds it up to Jess's lips. Jess drinks gratefully.

"I'm okay," Jess hisses, her voice raw.

"I brought you food," Trish murmurs, ignoring Jess' comment. "Can you sit up? Then you could eat something. You'll feel better once you eat." Trish read about this. Catatonic states as a result of binging and constant external pressures, usually preceded by panic attacks. Jess sits up slowly, heavily, but she sits up and Trish perches on the bed next to her, carefully rubbing Jess's back while she coaxes Jess into eating half a scone. Physical contact is important, according to the books; it helps ground Jess. Trish's arm, then her shoulder, becomes tired, but she doesn't stop. She slowly watched Jess eat while she tells Jess about this whole last week. Chatter is meant to help, reminding people that they are loved. 

Jess shrugs away from the contact at one point, dropping the half eaten scone on the bed. She sighed.

"You're meant to be a yoga now," she sighs.

"It got canceled," Trish lies, handing Jess her coffee. Jess glanced at it suspiciously, and then takes a sip. They sit in silence, each sipping their own coffee, while Trish plots getting a maid into Jess's place. Her thought process is interrupted when Jess glances at her and then looks away quickly. Trish tilts her head.

"What?" She asks quietly.

"I wanted to stop ruining your life," she whispers. Trish blinks.

"What?"

"When I was in your life....I was just ruining your life."

"No, Jess -"

"Nothing I do makes sense, Trish."

"That's also a lie. You do everything for a reason." Jess shifted on the bed, and then turned around, so she was looking at Trish. her face was serious, though tinged with exhaustion.

"The only reason in the world I do anything anymore, Trish, is you." Trish smiles sadly and looks away. 

"That's another lie."


End file.
